A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

The arrival of Sha Yanxiao and Gui'er still caused a little commotion. As soon as they entered the hall, several people immediately surrounded them, greeting him enthusiastically and looking at Gui'er curiously.

"Young Marshal, long time no see, who is this?"

"My sister Gui'er."

"Oh, it's you, young lady. I haven't seen you for a while. You've grown into a real beauty. It's true that the daughter of a general is extraordinary. Miss, do you still remember me? We took a photo together before."

Gui'er thought, there are so many banquets and weddings at the Marshal's Mansion, which one doesn't have group photos? Who knows who you are? She just smiled and nodded to get by.

However, she still felt that many people were looking at her, which made her very uncomfortable and she especially regretted dressing up so formally.

At the beginning of the banquet, the Marshal solemnly introduced Director Tian and called him an official sent by the Central Committee to go to the Shanghai front to contribute to the country. Everyone was originally worried about the Japanese situation in Shanghai, but when they heard the Marshal say this, they directly regarded him as a savior and went up to express their gratitude and admiration one by one.

There were also some people who knew Director Tian's background and came up to flatter him, and for a while Director Tian was praised so much that he felt flattered.

Gui'er felt a little relieved when she saw that everyone's attention and gaze were focused on Director Tian. She looked around and saw that after the Marshal took Director Tian to greet the wealthy people at the banquet, he started flirting with Mrs. Song again. She was afraid that the two of them would sneak away later.

Sha Yanyao was very considerate when accompanying Miss Tian, while the lady was greeting the wives of the celebrities in the city. She was really satisfied with Miss Tian as her daughter-in-law this time, no matter her housework or temperament, and she praised her to those noble ladies everywhere.

Gui'er hid in the corner and looked around, finally seeing Song Xichen. She quickly winked at him, then made an excuse to go to the bathroom and walked out of the banquet hall.

When they reached a secluded corner of the hotel, Song Xichen followed. She said to him, "Brother Xichen, long time no see. How are you?"

Song Xichen looked at her and smiled, "I'm fine. It's just that I'm a bit isolated in the office now. My colleagues are afraid that I'm a communist, so they keep their distance."

Gui'er waved her hand nonchalantly and said, "It's okay. When everything comes to light, they will envy you."

Song Xichen was confused and patted her head, saying, "What are you talking about? I don't understand. However, even though they can't find any evidence now, once I'm caught, I'll be a key surveillance target. My identity can be said to be semi-public. Fortunately, my family here has a good relationship with the Marshal's Mansion, so for the time being, it won't be a big problem."

Gui'er nodded and said, "That's good. I ran into Shopkeepers Zhang and Liu yesterday. They're in a very difficult situation. Isn't the organization planning to help them?"

Song Xichen said, "The location they opened this store in was actually carefully selected by the organization. After all, they had just announced that they had sold all their assets. If they suddenly started living lavishly, it would probably arouse suspicion."

Gui Er still felt bad and said, "But Shopkeeper Liu needs to recuperate, and Shopkeeper Zhang is also very tired. If it's just the two of them in those two small shops, I'm afraid they won't be able to handle it, not to mention helping to pass on information and so on."

Song Xichen comforted her, saying, "I understand what you mean. The organization will try to assign as few tasks to them as possible during this period. They just need to take care of their own lives."

Guier asked, "Can I contact them then? I still want to learn medicine from Manager Liu."

Song Xichen glanced around warily and said, "Let's wait until Director Tian arrives in Shanghai. He's a very difficult spy chief to deal with. According to our investigation, he's very perceptive and ruthless. We still have to be careful."

Gui'er thought for a moment and said, "Okay, he won't stay here for long anyway. He should leave in a few days. Then I'll go find Shopkeeper Zhang. If I personally support their lives, it shouldn't be a problem."

Song Xichen nodded and said, "You are a kind and good child. I will try to reduce my visits with them as much as possible. It would be good if you could visit more often."

Gui Er thought about the opium dens and casinos that had recently appeared in Jiangcheng, so she asked Song Xichen, "How's the public security in Jiangcheng lately? I feel like there are so many opium dens and casinos popping up. Won't these affect public security?"

Song Xichen said, "The main reason is that the Japanese expanded their influence in Shanghai, and some gangs felt the pressure, so they moved to the surrounding areas. They brought money with them, and certainly other things as well. Not only casinos and tobacco pipes, but now there are many more brothels in Jiangcheng. Some of them obtained licenses through high-ranking government officials. We police have to keep a close eye on them to prevent any crimes from happening."

Gui'er was puzzled when she heard this and said, "How is that possible? Sha Yanxiao is extremely disgusted with tobacco. When he was in charge of Fengcheng, he shut down countless tobacco shops and casinos."

Song Xichen smiled wryly and said, "Don't we still have the Marshal? Mineral output isn't as high as before, and Jiangcheng's economic benefits have been affected. The Marshal probably can't care so much."

Gui'er said, "Every time Sha Yanxiao mentioned the future battle against the Japanese, he became very discouraged. He said our equipment was inferior in every way, and that the Central Army wouldn't support this small place, so we might not be able to hold it. But he also said that even if we had to go up the mountain and become bandits, we would still continue to fight the Japanese."

Song Xichen said with some surprise, "I didn't expect this young marshal who came from a bandit family to have some courage."

Gui Er said to Song Xichen, "I think his strategic thinking is very similar to our party's. Can we win him over?"

Song Xichen pondered for a moment and said, "Jiangcheng and Fengcheng are just tiny places. The organization's forces here are very short of manpower. We must be cautious. What if Sha Yanxiao disagrees and attacks us like a spy organization? Our comrades will suffer a devastating disaster. So we must be extremely cautious."

Gui'er nodded and said, "Then I won't talk about it for now. Brother Xichen, I heard that Master Xilun goes to Hong Kong from time to time now, and your family has moved your assets there. So, is he and my classmate Tong Yujun going to get married soon?"

Song Xichen smiled, patted Gui'er's head, and said, "Yes, my parents have been at odds for years, but the Second Wife finally persuaded my father to give part of the property to my younger brother, allowing him to develop in Hong Kong. Actually, it's a good idea. My father even told me to quit and take over the family business. However, my current job at the police station allows me to come into contact with some government officials and get my hands on some weapons, which is very beneficial for the revolutionary work. I had no choice but to take on both sides."